What We Do In The Shadows is a mockumentary exposing the lives of three vampires: the foppish Viago (Taika Waititi), short-tempered Deacon (Jonathan Brugh), and macho Vladisav (Jermaine Clement), flatmates in New Zealand. The trio struggles with keeping their identities a secret, delegating house chores, and hardest of all, figuring out the intricacies of modern life.
With the Scary Movie and A Haunted House series at an all-time low, What We Do In The Shadows is a breath of fresh air for horror spoofs, putting original, quirky, and witty twists on monster movies. Clement and Waititi balance making fun of the common (vampires' weakness to sunlight), and obscure (vampires' inability to enter one's residence uninvited) clichés well, in a move that satisfies horror novices and experts alike. The film throws nods to a variety of vampires: Viago borrows Dracula's sophisticated flair; Vladisav resembles his medieval, alluring namesake, Vlad the Impaler; the movie even namedrops Blade and The Lost Boys. Vampires aren't the only subjects of jokes; the film throws in zombies, witches, and werewolves. The werewolves, in particular, are hilarious, working to stay peaceful by any means necessary, whether it be chaining themselves to trees, or simply stop cussing.
The production matches its genre's aesthetics superbly. The Gothic house and Victorian-influenced wardrobes help make What We Do In The Shadows fit as a throwback to 70's horror, like Hammer Films' Taste The Blood of Dracula. Adding creature transformations, high-flying (gliding, really) vampire special effects, and of course, buckets of blood, gives the film a classic horror film with an modern indie edge.
It'd be easy to make a film with all gags, but the movie fleshes out each character, dedicating time for them to interact with each other. Waititi, Burgh, and Clement have great chemistry; their banter is quick, relaxed, and hilarious. Notable supporting roles include Stuart Rutherford as the vampires' only human friend, guiding them into the land of Google and Skype, and Ben Fransham as the Nosferatu-like Petyr.
What We Do In The Shadows breathes life (forgive the pun) into an otherwise stagnant movie genre. It spoofs the monster movie and found footage genre with a variety of references, in-jokes, slapstick, and wit, balanced in such a way to keep mainstream audience and horror buffs happy. My fellow theater patrons burst out laughing all throughout and I'm sure you will, as well. In a comedy climate full of The D.U.F.F. and Hot Tub Time Machine 2, you owe yourself a smarter, funnier movie, and this is it.
Thank you all for reading; I'm the Man Without A Plan, signing off.
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